Client login

Regional Coverage

Royal Hospital School

Improving perceptions of the fire industry

“Fire Safety Services have consistently delivered a first class service with our fire safety requirements. It is refreshing to work with such an ethical fire safety company who work in partnership with the school to keep its pupils, staff and outstanding facilities safe.

We feel continually re-assured by the advice received and always trust we are kept legally compliant. I would have no hesitation in recommending their services”

John Reid – Estates Manager, Royal Hospital School

It’s not uncommon for customers to approach Fire Safety Services having had a negative experience with another supplier. Conflicting advice can lead to a breakdown in trust on the customer’s part, which is entirely understandable. We’ve helped new customers solve potentially costly problems, which they’d previously been told could not be solved.

The Royal Hospital School is a leading independent co-educational boarding and day secondary school in East Anglia, just south of Ipswich, with a roll of around 750 pupils, of which 450 are boarders. Prior to working with us, the school had a particularly negative perception of the fire safety industry. They were unable to plan and budget for future fire safety management due to the inconsistent advice they’d received from their incumbent suppliers.

How we helped Royal Hospital School

In 2012, RHS had multiple fire safety suppliers contracted to deliver services in different buildings around the school grounds. Alarms in individual buildings were not on a network, which meant that fire safety was potentially compromised.

What’s more, the mix of providers in the frame was putting an extra burden on RHS to deal with the admin associated with several supplier contracts. We suggested a solution whereby all alarms were networked, extended when needed and maintained by us. We would act as a ‘one-stop shop’ for RHS.

Five years later, we are their sole supplier. We manage all fire alarm, fire extinguisher and fire hydrant servicing. We also carry out fire risk assessments on all the school buildings and can provide fire training when it is required. RHS has a five-year building development programme, which we’ve supported with upgrades and extensions to the fire alarm systems.

Improving perceptions of the fire industry

It’s detrimental to the entire fire safety industry when customers like RHS are treated poorly and given incorrect or conflicting advice. We’re pleased that we have been able to restore their faith in the industry by providing the highest quality services at all times. And, more importantly, we’ve worked with them to ensure they’re fully compliant with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – a priority for all schools.

How much do you know about Fire Risk Assessments in schools?

Clearly, all Fire Risk Assessments (FRAs) must be approached individually. No two buildings are the same and your school must have a FRA that meets your needs. While the name suggests that a FRA examines risk, it should also look at impact as stated in this Government report, i.e. both the chances of a fire happening and the potential consequences after it has occurred.

Once a FRA has been carried out, you can make decisions about how to minimise those risks to a level, which is acceptable (some risks are impossible to eradicate completely). This may involve additional installation of equipment as well as a clear plan on who is responsible for fire safety.

What’s really important is that you’re sure your fire risk assessor is adequately trained and qualified. BAFE’s SP205 accreditation scheme was launched in May 2012 to address varying standards among assessors. Now, customers can rest assured that choosing a BAFE-certified assessor means they have met standards set by BAFE and have the required technical and quality management capabilities.

Fire Safety Services are one of a limited number of UK companies to have achieved this certification, which demonstrates our continued commitment to providing ‘quality in compliance’ services to all our customers.

Additional Information for schools

Fire Protection plays a very important part in Schools in order to keep our children safe.

During a typical school day, the bell sounds frequently, children scurry to classrooms, attend lessons, conduct science experiments, take breaks, dash to the school canteen and play outside.

But, what if, a fire breaks out in the kitchen or a bunsen burner has accidentally caught something alight in the science block. What would you do? In anyone of these events, you would expect the fire alarm to activate, the correct type of fire extinguisher to be on hand and be in fully working order and a fully rehearsed fire evacuation procedure to be in place.

This is something that we all take for granted and is expected. We only think about fire protection when an emergency fire situation takes place. However, what if you don’t have the adequate equipment in fully working order? What then?

Don’t allow your school to get caught out in the event of an emergency fire situation.

Unsurprisingly, in the wake of the recent Grenfell Tower fire, the BBC reported that Ministers are being asked to order urgent checks of fire safety measures in England’s schools.

Following this report the government insisted there were no plans to bring in any changes, which would make fire safety laws less strict.

For more information on fire safety advice for schools read our blog which includes top fire safety tips for schools.

Regional Coverage

Need further information or would like to speak to one of our sales department?